TEHRAN - Iran’s policy toward Syria is logical and stable with clear principles of self-determination by Syrians themselves without dictation from foreigners, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday.

During a meeting with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad in Tehran on Wednesday, Zarif said that Syriays should decide about their own fate and future and outside parties may only play the role of facilitator in the political process.

Referring to the conference on Syria in Vienna on Friday, Zarif said Iran believes that there is a political solution for the Syrian crisis and the conference was a good move in this direction. He added that Iran has declared its position clearly.

Meqdad appreciated Iran’s support for the Syrian government and nation, and said that he is conveying warm greetings of President Bashar al-Assad for the Supreme Leader and the Iranian president.

He said that Iran’s efforts in helping Syria to settle its crisis would never be forgotten.

Syria dismisses ‘transitional period’

Deputy Foreign Minister, who is Iran's point man on regional policies.

Earlier on Tuesday, Meqdad held a lengthy talks with Iran’s point man on regional policies Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as Meqdad expressed his country’s opposition to the idea of a “transitional period”.

“We are talking about a national dialogue in Syria and a broad-based government as well as a constitutional process. There is no [talk of a] transitional period in Syria,” the Syrian official said, the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV reported.

He added that no official report has been received yet about a possible meeting between the Syrian government and opposition groups.

During their meeting which lasted six hours, Meqdad and Amir-Abdollahian also exchanged views how to settle the crisis politically in Syria and examined the details of Iran’s diplomatic initiative which was recently presented to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by Zarif.

Amir-Abdollahian and his Syrian counterpart also underscored the necessity of serious campaign against terrorism and reviewed the outcome of the Vienna talks with a focus on respecting people’s choice and the role of President Assad.

In the Friday meeting in Vienna, top diplomats from 17 countries, including Iran, as well as envoys from the United Nations and the European Union, held talks over the Syrian conflict. It was the first time that the Islamic Republic attended such negotiations.

The participants agreed on respecting Syria’s unity and sovereignty as well as eradicating extremist groups operating in the country. However, they remained at loggerheads over the role President Bashar al-Assad would play in Syria’s political process.

During the meeting, according to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi, Zarif authoritatively took on Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister.

“There was much give-and-take [during the talks]; and the conversations between us and Saudi Arabia were tense, and voices were raised,” Araqchi said on Monday night.

“At one point” said Araqchi, “there was a quarrel between … Zarif and Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister.”

MD/P